The Great Bay 5K, out of consideration for the health and well-being of our racers and volunteers has been reimagined for 2021! This year, you can run or walk or use your wheelchair in our regular, in-person 5K; you can run or walk or use your wheelchair in your virtual 5K on any course you choose, even if it is a treadmill or loops around your back yard. Once you register, you can do your race any time between October 1 and October 30. Whatever course you choose, make sure you are safe, and that you abide by current CDC, state and local guidelines for dealing with the coronavirus. The Great Bay 5K is still the final race in the popular Seacoast Road Race Series. If you are registered for the Seacoast Series, and if you submit your finishing time, it will count toward your participation in the Seacoast Series.

We've kept last year's Great Bay 55K Challenge – a virtual tour around Great Bay. This race is different from the 5K – you can complete it in segments, logging your miles in as many days as you want between October 1 and October 30. You'll be able to see on the Leader Board how your total miles compare to others doing this virtual race. And you'll get notices when you reach special Milestones around Great Bay that introduce you to some special features and viewpoints of Great Bay. As with the Great Bay 5K, you can run or walk or use your wheelchair for your Great Bay 55K Challenge anywhere you want: On some or all of the mapped course; around your neighborhood or a local lake; on a trail or a treadmill. Wherever you run or walk, make sure you obey local traffic laws, as well as current coronovirus guidelines, and be mindful of any and all vehicle traffic around you. Look for emails prior to race day about how to log your results for both races. You can also register for both virtual events: the virtual Great Bay 5K and the Great Bay 55K!

No matter which race option you choose, you'll get a long-sleeve race shirt, and a bib with tear strips that you can take to select establishments for free beer/cider and free oysters. Please keep in mind that you must register by October 15 to get a race shirt. People who register after that may claim a shirt if any are left over on race day.

All proceeds from the Great Bay 5K and 55K go to the non-profit Great Bay Stewards, which supports conservation, education, responsible recreation and research of the Great Bay & Piscataqua River Watershed and Estuary.